Method of manufacturing rifled pipes.



C. FELL. METHOD OF MANUFACTURING RIFLED mns.

APPLICATION TILED JUNE 25, 1909.

Patented July 23, 1912.

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PiPES.

' Patented July 23,1912.

C. FELL. METHOD OF MANUFAGTURING RIFLED G.'PBLL. METHOD OF MANUFACTURING BIFLED P1P APPLIOATIOH TILED JUNE 25, 1909.

Patented July 23,1912.

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w Ew 2w q g \w wn%mww Q WW m@w a ua-3am UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES FE LL, OF IJORAIN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL TUBE OOMIALIY, OF PITTSBURGIL'PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING RIFLED PIPES.

Specification of lietters Patent. Patented July 23, 1912.

Application fl1ed J'une 25, 1909. SeriaL No. 504,315.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lorain, Lorain county, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in'Methods of Manufacturing Rifled Pipes, of which the following is a full', clear, and scription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a plant arranged for carrying out my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan viewon a larger scale, showing the rifling rolls; Fig. 3 is an elevation partly in section. of the expanding and threading machine; Fi 4 is a vertical sectional view of the expanding rolls and adjacent parts; and Fig. 5 is a detail view of the expanding rolls. Y My invention relates to the making of rifled pipes or tubes, whereinthe pipesor tubes are 'provided'with rifling grooves.

The object of the invention is to provide acheap, simple and rapid process by which thepipes may be rifled from end to end and then expanded at their ends to prepare them for the threading operation.

Prior to'my'invent-ion, pipes or tubes hadbeen rifled by feedingthe tube, which already had 'ts applied theretofinto a rifling machine with the'parts in inoperative position. The parts of the rifling machine were then closed on the tube at a point intermediate of its length and beyondt'he part to be threaded. The intermediate part of the. pipe was' then rifled, the rifling being stopped before reach in g the other end to be threaded cold. Such process was slow and expensive and considerable loss resulted by reason of splitting the metal, owing to its being rifled while cold. My invention overcomes these. difliculties and provides a much more rapid and cheap process, since the tube or pipe is rifled while hot, the rifling being carried out from end to end so that there is no delay in adjusting and readjusting the parts of the rifling.

machine. Being rifled while hot, the liability .to splitting is greatly'reduced, and

therefore, the ends of the pipe areexpanded for threading or otheroperations thereon. Fig. 1;-

In the drawings, referring to 2'represents the sizing rolls, to which the hot tube or pipe is taken from the welding mzichine or welding 011s (not shown). From the sizing rolls, the metal is carried over CHARLES FELL, of-

exact de.

ends threaded and couplings provided suitable feed devices such as rolls 3, to the rifling machine 4. This rifling machine is with skew rolls having beads 5 thereon, as shown in Fig. 2. ,This rifling machine is disclosed and claimed in my dated May 26, 1908, for apparatus for rifling pipes or tubes.

As the front end of'the hot pipe enters the skew rifling rolls, it begins to rotate and the rolls'apply thereto the rifling grooves, as indicated in Fig. 2. After the tube has thus been rifled from end to end, it passes over suit-able feed mechanism, such as rolls 6, to the cross rolls, indicated at 7. These cross rolls straighten the tube, and are preferably skewed relatively to each other in order to effectively carry out the straightening operation. From the cross rolls, the tube passes on to further feed devices, shown as rolls 8, '8, from which it is taken to the United States Letters Patent, No. 888,984,

cooling bed 9. From the cooling bed, the

rifled pipes pass to shears or saws 10, 10.- These saws are shown as staggered relatively to each other and as acting successively so, that the pipe may be cut any desired length. From the saws or cutters 10, the pipe then passes to the expanding and threading machines, shown at. 11, which also act successively.

Each expanding and threading machine is preferably constructed and arranged as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, though these operations may be carried out in any desirabl manner. In the form shown, 12 designates thebed of an ordinary pipe-threading machine. 13 and 14 .are the usual holdingchucks, which are rotated by the train of gears 15, driven by the motor 16. 17 designates the threading head, which is mounted 'on the'longitudinally movable carriage 18,

actuated by the pinion 19, which engages the teeth of therack 20. 21 is the usual chuck or head' in which the threading tools are carried, and which is mounted on the slide 22. These parts are all similar to those used on existing pipe-threading machines and need'not'be described in detail.

' The expanding attachment consists of'a A series (three being shown in the present instance) of rollers 23. These rollers are of tapered or frusto-conical form and are journaled between and 'upon plates orjwashers 24, which are arranged to slide'in radial guides 25, in the support hereinhift r described, around the opening 26 through I which the pi es to be expanded pass. The rollers are s own as having openings 27 bored therethrough, into the end portion of which are loosely fitted bosses 28 on the plates or washers 24. The. outer faces of these plates or washers are faced or planed at an angle of ninety degrees to the longitudinal axis of the machine, as shown, while the inner faces of the plates, which bear against the ends of the r flersfare substan tially arallel to the axi of the pipe to b( expan ed; whereby the axes of such rollers are brought at an an yesto the axis of the pipe to be expanded, faces of-said rollers t the outer sides there of are parallel wit uch axis. 3 I 29 is a frusto ical wedge or expander, which is tapere to the same angle as the rollers 23, but 1 the reverse direction, so that as it is rollers, the l er will be moved away from the center. his wedge.- or expander is counterbor at its large end, as shown at 30, to recve the head 31 of the actuating screw 32 hich has a threaded bearing in a nut'33, seated in the supporting block 33. This screw is actuated by a hand wheel 34. {Ihe head of 'the screw 31 is secured in the cbnnterbore 30 of the wedge or expander by a retaining plate 35, which is secured to and rotates with the expander. The head 31 has a pointed or conical center 36, which has a hearing within the expander for the purset into a counterbore in-the body 33 and is held by the retaining plate 37, secured by screws 38, or other suitable means. When the hand wheel 34 is actuatedthe screw 32 which is held from turning by a spline or feather 32' will be moved forward to thereby force forward the wedge or expander 29, to cause the 'rollers 23 to move out or away from the center line of the head. The'pipe or tube 18., whose end is to be expanded is secured in the chuck 13, or in both the chucks 13 and 14, Hit is of sufii: cient length, with its free end passing through the threading chuck 21 and between the rollers. 23 and the rounding aup jaws or blocks 39, the latter being seated'in the head 17, and the upper ofsaid blocks having a holding down screw 40. As the pipe or tube is rotatedwhile the tapered rollers 23 are being moved forwardly by the action of the screw 32, the outer faces of said rollers will expand the said pipe or tube in a direction parallel with its axis. The contact between these rollers and the inner surface of the pipe or tube will cause the rollers to rotate and these in turn, rotate the wedge or expander 29. A roller bearing effeet is thus produced which extends very greatly the life of the tool.

e5 3351s a cap which is fastened to the body .ived forwardly, between the pose'of reducingthe friction. The nut 33 is '33 and which forms the end hearing or slide for therear plates or washers 24.

41' designates a cap which is rotatably secured'to the body 33 by a'stud or screw 43, whose end runs in a circular groove in said body. This collar acts as a gage for the expanding head as the latter enters the pipes or tubes, and as it extends be 0nd the face of the slots in said body, in W, ich the front washers. 24. are seated, it also acts as a guard to prevent said washers and the rollers from falling out of place. The body 33 is held in the frame 44 by the pivoting screws 46. The expanding head-can be adjusted back and forth by means of the screws 47, which bite against the nuts 49 of the pivoting screws 45.

g The rounding up blocks or dies 39 are so shaped as to-fit closely to the outside diameexpand the pipe beyond its proper size.

The ends of the rifling pipe are thus succes'sively expanded and threaded, these operations being carried out while the metal is cold. 7

The advantages of my invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in'the art. Not only are the operations carried out more rapidly and cheaply, but a better product is obtained, especially where the pipe is rifled. while hot. With the old method, the pipe must be cut to length before it is rifled, and as previously carried out, it was not only cut to length, but also the ends were threaded before the two were subjected to the rifling operation. In such case, the rifling can not be carried closely up .to the threaded por-, tion, as in my process.

The pipe or tube may be straightened either before or after the ritling operation, though I prefer to straighten it afterward, since otherwise, the pipe would be straightened while coldafter the riding operation, which tends to bend it somewhat.

Different machines or apparatus may be employed for rifling and for carrying out the other stepswit-hout departing from my invention.

I claim: 4

1. The method of making pipes and tubes consisting in taking a welded pipe. or tube and while still heated from the welding operation, successively sizing, rifling, straight- ;ening and then cutting the pipe o'r tube to length and finally expanding the ends of the out pipe to remove the rifiing grooves therein and then threading the so restored cylindrical end portions of the rifled pipes or tubes.

2. The method of making pipes and tubes 5 consisting in taking a welded pipe or tube and while still heated from the welding operati'on, successively rifling, straightening and then cutting the pipe or tubeto lengthand finallycxpanding the ends of the cut 1 pipe to remove the rifiing grooves therein and then threading the so restored cylindrical end portions of the rifled pipes or tubes.

3. The method of making pipes and tubes consisting in taking a welded pipe 01/ tube and while still heated from the weldirig operation, successively sizing, rifling andkhen cutting the pipe or tube to length, then eX- pending the ends of the cut pipe to 'remove the rifllng grooves therein, allowing'the expanded plpe to cool and then threading the so restored cylindrical end portions of the rifled pipes or tubes. 7

4. The method of making pipes and tubes consisting in taking a welded pipe or tube and while still heated from the welding operation, successively rifling and then cutting the pipe or tube to length and finally expending the ends of the cut pipe to remove the rifling grooves therein, allowing the pipe to cool and then threading the so restored cylindrical end portions of the rifled pipes or tubes.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES FELL.

Witnesses:

A. F. TIBBETTS, H. M. Conwm 

